Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation11 Mai 2022

Interview | Growing Up Irooni- Caspian Chef discusses returning to his Iranian roots after decades of assimilation

In this Growing Up Irooni we talk to Omid Roustaei, better known as the Caspian Chef. In this conversation, we discuss the process of coming to the United States on his own and figuring out his own path for assimilating into American culture as a means of survival. Omid has has a very rich and varied path, first studying biotech engineering, and then becoming a personal chef and yoga teacher, to pursuing a career in psychotherapy, to returning to cooking and his Iranian roots only in the past few years.This was one of the most fascinating conversations I've had- and we really go into some territory that I think will resonate with so many of us- life is certainly not linear, and we can see that in Omid's story. We talk about career and pursuing your dreams- he first went down the ‘traditional Iranian path' of becoming a biotech engineer and worked in that field for a while, before pivoting to the perhaps more American notion of pursuing his passion- cooking and psychotherapy. We also talked about the process of assimilation as a coping mechanism- what it means to arrive in a country and need to fit in. And finally, what led Omid back to the path of rediscovering his Iranian roots- from cooking Persian food, to becoming reacquainted with the Persian language, and to ultimately seek out and become part of the Iranian diaspora community again.I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did!

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Episoder(223)

Culture | Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, On the Creation of the World, Part 2

In this lesson, we continue our discussion of the section “On the Creation of the World” from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh with Dr. Omid Arabian. This part of the epic poem discusses the very beginnings of th...

24 Nov 202520min

Culture | Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, On the Creation of the World, Part 1

In this lesson, we begin our discussion of the section of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh called “On the Creation of the World” with Dr. Omid Arabian. We begin with a discussion of just the first two lines (the ...

17 Nov 202535min

Speak Lesson 70 | Thanking a Shopowner

In this lesson, we learn some more expressions for expressing thanks, particularly in the context of visiting a jewelry store or other shop and making arrangements in advance.

27 Okt 202513min

Interview | Growing Up Irooni - Nilo Tabrizy on the Cost of Telling Iran’s Story

In this episode of Growing Up Irooni, journalist Nilo Tabrizy joins Leyla Shams to talk about her groundbreaking book For the Sun After Long Nights — The Story of Iran’s Women-Led Uprising, recently l...

22 Okt 20251h 6min

Speak Lesson 69 | Giving Thanks

In this lesson, we learn some other tārof-related expressions for expressing thanks, especially when talking to people at a party or other social gathering.

20 Okt 202517min